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Views from the Choir Loft

What really happened at the Convocation of Catholic Leaders

Christopher Mueller · July 25, 2017

102 Mueller OUNDS like a clickbait headline, huh? Or…did you even know that there had been a huge Convocation of Catholic Leaders, sponsored by the USCCB and held July 1-4 in Orlando, FL? There was, and it was quite an impressive and faith-filled event (as detailed here, here, and here), with around 150 bishops, 250 priests, 350 religious, and nearly 3,000 lay-faithful in attendance.

Bishop James Conley spoke of the “beautiful liturgies” at the event, and Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote about the “beautiful music and depths of prayer.” How do you make beautiful, prayerful liturgies in a hotel ballroom?

Credit goes to the publishers of Magnificat, who not only provided a beautiful liturgical booklet covering the whole enterprise, but also oversaw the decoration of the main stage with wonderful floral arrangements. Credit goes, too, to the USCCB itself, which showed images of vibrant medieval stained-glass windows on giant LED monitors, to give the ballroom a taste of majestic cathedrals and visually inspire all those gathered.

But I’d like to draw your attention to the liturgical music. The music was directed by the same team as the music at the Mercy Centre last year at World Youth Day, Kraków — that is to say, Rev. Łukasz Miśko, O.P. and me. There was a choir of sixteen singers, drawn from all over the U.S. (including two O.P. friars from Poland!), as well as an orchestra of seven expert Floridian instrumentalists. And the music was Catholic in the broadest sense, meaning universal:

— We sang Gregorian chant:
Christus resurgens (Gregorian plainsong, mode 8)

— We sang Renaissance polyphony:
Quia vidisti me (Estêvão de Brito)

— We sang Russian Orthodox chant:
The Beatitudes (Russian Orthodox Chant, arr. Richard Proulx)

— We chanted in a Byzantine style:
O Radiant Light (André Gouzes, O.P.)

— We sang traditional hymnody in Spanish:
Cantemos al amor (Ignacio Busca de Sagastizábal)

— We sang a lovely Mass setting by a contemporary Polish composer:
Sanctus, from Missa Spei (Ursula Rogala)

— We sang mystical Eucharistic texts in new musical settings:
Welcome, Bread of Life (Paweł Bębenek)

— We even sang a patriotic song toward the end of the 4th of July Mass:
America the beautiful (Samuel A. Ward)

You may be thinking, “Gosh, all that different sort of music. Won’t that induce liturgical whiplash?” But my answer is a resounding “no,” because of what the various pieces all have in common:

— they’re all choral works (even the unison chanting is meant for an ensemble of voices)

— they’re all beautiful pieces appropriate for the liturgy

— they draw from a wide swath of Christian (mostly Catholic) music, reminding us that beauty is not limited to a certain era or style

— and they were sung by a choir of devoted and faithful Catholics, who were praying through their song.

The music was very well-received, by everyone from bishops and priests to consecrated religious, lay faithful, people from a wide variety of ethnicities and backgrounds. Beauty opens hearts and inspires souls.

We encourage this authentically Catholic approach to music: if it can help people to pray, sing it!

*******

To see complete listings of the Mass music, click here.

To learn more about the Dominican Liturgical Center, the driving force behind this liturgical approach, click here.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Christopher Mueller

Christopher Mueller is a conductor and composer who aims to write beautiful music out of gratitude to God, Author of all beauty.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Chants closely related to the readings should, of course, be appropriately transferred for use with these readings. For pastoral reasons also there is an option regarding the chants for the Proper of Seasons: namely, as circumstances suggest, to replace the text proper to a day with another text belonging to the same season.”

— Ordo Cantus Missae (1971)

Recent Posts

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  • “My First Year with the Latin Mass” • A Music Director’s Perspective
  • Boston Auxiliary Bishop: “In offering the Traditional Mass for the first time, after removing the vestments, I knelt in the back pew and wept.”

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